ATMOS 5140 Lecture 7 Chapter 6 Thermal Emission Blackbody Radiation Planck s Function Wien s Displacement Law Stefan-Bolzmann Law Emissivity Greybody Approximation Kirchhoff s Law Brightness Temperature
Blackbody Radiation Theoretical Maximum Amount of Radiation that can be emitted by an object Perfect emitter perfect absorber Absorptivity = 1
Planck s Law Defines the monochromatic intensity of radiation for a blackbody as a function of temperature. Physical Dimensions of intensity (power per unit area per unit solid angle) per unit wavelength: W m -2 um -1 sr -1 Where: h= Planck s constant = 6.626*10-34 J s k= Bolzmann s constant = 1.381*10-23 J/K
Wien s Displacement Law The wavelength at which you find maximum emission from a blackbody of temperature T Where k w = 2897 um K
Wien s Displacement Law The wavelength at which you find maximum emission from a blackbody of temperature T
Stefan-Boltzmann Law Gives the broadband flux emitted by blackbody Integrate Planck s function over all wavelengths, and over a hemisphere (2π steradians of solid angle) = 5.67 *10-8 W m -2 K -4
Rayleigh-Jeans Approximation For wavelengths of 1 mm or longer Used commonly in microwave band Where: h= Planck s constant = 6.626*10-34 J s k B = Bolzmann s constant = 1.381*10-23 J/K
Emissivity Blackbody is an ideal situation (ε = 1) Typical Infrared emissivities (%, relative to blackbody) Water = 92-96% Concrete= 71-88% Polished aluminum = 1-5% Typically shiny, polished metals will have a very low emissivity value making it hard to get an accurate infrared temperature reading. Polished silver, gold and stainless steel are examples of surfaces with a low emissivity.
Monochromatic Emissivity
Greybody Emissivity Assume there is no wavelength dependence
Kirchhoff s Law Emissivity = Absorptivity Important, it implies wavelength dependences Also depends upon viewing directions (θ, Φ) Applies under conditions of local thermodynamic equilibrium
Thermal Imaging
When Does Thermal Emission Matter? λb λ (T) (normalized) (b) 6000 K 300 K 250 K 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.3 0.5 1 1.5 2 3 5 10 15 20 30 50 10 NOTE: Normalized Relative! Sun emission is much greater. Wavelength [µm] General Rule: 4 μm is good threshold for separating thermal from solar
Why is sun yellow? http://www.iflscience.com/physics/why-sky-blue-and-sun-yellow-ls-currently-working/
Brightness Temperature Planck s function describes a one-to-one relationship between intensity of radiation emitted by a blackbody at a given wavelength and the blackbody s temperature. Brightness temperature is inverse of Planck s function applied to observed radiance. Thus, when an object has a emissivity ~ 1, then the brightness temperature is very close to the actual temperature Extremely useful for remote sensing in Thermal IR
Brightness Temperature T " = B % &' εb % T Ratio of: Actual emitted radiation Emission of blackbody Planck s Function describes a direct relationship between temperature and emitted radiation
Brightness Temperature T " = B % &' εb % T Ratio of: Actual emitted radiation Emission of blackbody So when ε = 1 T B = T Planck s Function describes a direct relationship between temperature and emitted radiation
Spectral Window
Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) on AQUA
GOES
IR Imaging from Space COLD TEMP High Clouds
Close to 1, get the temperature of top of cloud Brightness Temperature
Radiative Equilibrium For the Moon simple system
Radiative Equilibrium Solar Flux S 0 R E Intercepted Flux Φ=S 0 πr E 2
Radiative Equilibrium Incoming Shortwave Radiation Outgoing Longwave Radiation
Top-of-the Atmosphere Global Radiation Balance Earth is more complicated yet can consider balance at the top (above) the atmosphere
Simple Radiative Model of the Atmosphere Single Layer, Non Reflecting Atmosphere Shortwave Longwave 1 3 5 7 a sw Atmosphere a lw T a 2 4 6 8 A Surface ε T s
Credit: M. Mann modification of a figure from Kump, Kasting, Crane "Earth System"
Longwave / Atmospheric Emissivity Greenhouse effect Greenhouse gases are transparent in the shortwave, but strongly absorb longwave radiation Thus increasing value of α *+ will shift the radiative equilibrium of the globe to warmer temperatures.